Rape-Convict Ex-MP Prajwal Revanna Found With Phone Inside Bengaluru Prison, Action On Officials

Former Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna, who is serving a life sentence after being convicted in a rape case, has allegedly been caught with a mobile phone inside the Bengaluru prison where he is lodged.

Sources told NDTV that Revanna was found using a phone during a surprise raid by Crime Branch officials. A case has been registered by the Crime Branch and a probe is on to find out how Revanna got a phone inside the jail.

Authorities have acted and suspended a senior jail official for dereliction of duty and issued notice to another over lapses in Prajwal Revanna's cell. 

Jail Assistant Superintendent Eeranna Rangapur has been suspended for alleged lapses. Meanwhile, jail Superintendent Ansuch Kumar has been served a show-cause notice seeking an explanation for the security lapses.

Revanna, who is the grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and nephew of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, was sentenced to life imprisonment last year for rape and intimidation. He was also convicted for circulating videos of the sexual assault on a 48-year-old woman.

The woman, who worked as a domestic help at the Revanna family's farmhouse in Hassan district's Holenarasipura, had alleged that she was raped repeatedly by Prajwal Revanna since 2021. He had recorded the act and threatened to release the videos if she told anyone about it.

Revanna left for Germany soon after the videos emerged and was later suspended by the JD(S). He lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election and was arrested after returning from Germany.

Now, questions are being raised over alleged VIP treatment for the rape convict inside the prison.

The case has once again put the spotlight on special privileges for 'VIP' prisoners inside Bengaluru's central prison.

In 2024, videos had emerged of actor Darshan partying inside the prison while in judicial custody in connection with the murder of a fan.

A photo showing actor Darshan smoking a cigarette, surrounded by three others on a lawn, went viral. A video had also surfaced showing the jailed Kannada actor on a phone call.

Following the viral videos, authorities suspended multiple jail officials, transferred Darshan to Ballari Central Prison, and cracked down heavily on prison privileges.

Personal mobile phones, SIM cards, and electronic communication devices are universally banned inside prisons. Permitted communication occurs exclusively through heavily monitored institutional landlines, public call offices (PCOs), or designated video-calling systems.